INTA Blog

​On March 23, 2016, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) officially changes its name to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), as set out in the amending EU Trade Mark Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2424). In the same vein, the Community Trade Mark (CTM) now becomes the EU Trade Mark or EUTM. The Regulation has no impact on the Registered Community Design.

The Office’s address and phone numbers will remain the same. The new website address will be www.euipo.europa.eu and the current “OHIM” web address will automatically redirect users to the new domain. The email address “@oami.europa.eu” will run in parallel with the new address “@euipo.europa.eu” for a few months.

The reform will impact more than the name of the Office. The structure of the Office will evolveand change: an “Executive Director” will replace the “President”; the current “Administrative Board and Budget Committee” (ABBC) will become a “Budget Committee and a Management Board with representatives from the Member States, the European Commission, and Parliament.” The fees payable to the Office will change, and the Office’s procedures should be further streamlined. The reform also creates a new legal framework for cooperation and convergence of practices between the EUIPO and the industrial property offices of the Member States.

For more information on the EU trademark reform and the implementation of the Regulation and Trade Marks Directive, visit INTA’s Topic Portal here.